There are three principal topics treated in this section: First, the
spiritual state of the Ephesians before their conversion. Second, the change
which God had made in them. Third, the purpose for which that change had been
made.

1.The
state of the Ephesians before their conversion, and the natural state of
mankind universally, is spiritual death, which includes (a) a state of sin; (b)
a state of subjection to Satan and to our own corrupt affections; (c) a state
of condemnation. (Verses
1–3.)

2.The
change which they had experienced was a spiritual resurrection, concerning
which the apostle teaches (a) that God is its author; (b) that it is a work of
love and grace; (c) that it was through Christ, or in virtue of union with him;
(d) that it involves great exaltation, even an association with Christ in his
glory. (Verses
4–6.)

3.The
purpose of this dispensation is to reveal God's grace through all coming ages.
It reveals grace (a) because salvation, in general, is of grace; (b) because
the fact that the Ephesian Christians believed or accepted this salvation was
due not to themselves but to God – faith is his gift; (c) because good works
are the fruits not of nature but of grace – we are created for good works. (Verses 7–10.)

Commentary

2:1.You were dead
through the trespasses and sins. There is an intimate connection between
this clause and the preceding paragraph. In Ephesians 1:19
the apostle prays that the Ephesians might duly appreciate the greatness of the
power which had been exercised in their conversion. It was to be known from its
effects. It was that power which was exercised in the resurrection and
exaltation of Christ, and which had brought about an analogous change in them.
The same power which brought Christ to life has brought you to life.

2:2. In which you
once lived. Their former condition was briefly described in verse 1 as a state
of spiritual death. In this and the following verses it is described in more
detail. They walked in sin. They were daily conversant with it, and devoted to
it. They were surrounded by it, and clothed with it. They lived according to
the course of this world. In this clause is stated not only the
character of their life, but the governing principle which controlled their
conduct. They lived according to, and under the control of, the spirit of the
world.

2:3. We were by
nature children of wrath. The expression children of wrath agrees
with the Hebrew 'sons of' idiom meaning those to be punished. This wrath is
God's displeasure and, of course, the idea of ill-desert is necessarily
implied.

2:4. Thus the
apostle has described people's natural state; and in this and the following
verses he unfolds the manner in which those to whom he wrote had been delivered
from that dreadful condition. It was by a spiritual resurrection. God, and not
themselves, was the author of the change. It was not to be referred to any
goodness in them, but to the abounding love of God. The objects of this love
were not Jews, as opposed to Gentiles, nor the Gentiles as such, nor people in
general, but us, i.e., Christians, the actual subjects of the life-giving power
spoken of here. All this is included in this verse.

But God,
i.e., notwithstanding our guilt and corruption, God, who is rich in mercy,
'because he is rich in mercy.' Mercy is 'the desire to succour the
miserable.' Love is more than either pity or mercy. It was not
merely mercy, which has all the miserable for its object; but love,
which has definite individual people for its objects, which constrained this
intervention of God for our salvation.

2:5. Made us alive
together with Christ. The Greek word translated 'to make alive' means 'to
impart life.' In the New Testament it almost always refers to the giving of the
life of which Christ is the author.

2:6. And raised us
up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
This is an amplification of what precedes. In its broadest sense the life,
which in verse 5
is said to be given to us, includes the exaltation expressed in this verse. It
is, therefore, only by way of amplification that the apostle, after saying we
are made sharers of the life of Christ, adds that we are raised … up and
enthroned with him in heaven.

2:7. Why has
God done all this? Why from eternity has he chosen us to be holy before him in
love? Why has he made us accepted in the beloved? Why, when dead in trespasses
and sins, has he made us alive, raised us up, and made us to sit together in
heavenly realms with Christ? The answer to these questions is given in this
verse. It was so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable
riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. The revelation
of the grace of God, i.e., of his unmerited love, is declared to be the
specific object of redemption. From this it follows that whatever clouds the
grace of God, or clashes with the free nature of the blessings promised in the
Gospel, must be inconsistent with its nature and purpose. If the salvation of
sinners is intended as an exhibition of the grace of God, it has to be free.

2:8–9. These
verses confirm the preceding declaration. The manifestation of the grace
of God is the great end of redemption. This is plain, for salvation is entirely
of grace. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). So
here we have a manifold assertion, affirmative and negative, of the free nature
of salvation. It is not only said in general, 'You are saved by grace,'
but further, that salvation is by faith, i.e., by simply receiving or
apprehending the offered blessing. From the very nature of faith, as an
act of assent and trust, it excludes the idea of merit. If it is by faith,
it is of grace; if it is by works, it is earned by him; as the apostle
argues in Romans
4:4–5. Faith, therefore, is the mere act of accepting, and not the
ground on which salvation is bestowed.

Not the
result of works (Ephesians
2:9). The apostle says works, without qualification or limitation.
It is not, therefore, ceremonial, as distinguished from good works; or
legal, as distinguished from evangelical or gracious works; but works
of all kinds, as distinguished from faith, which are excluded. Salvation is in
no sense, and in no degree, of works; for the person who attains the reward has
earned it. But salvation is of grace, and therefore not of works,
lest any man should boast.

2:10. That
salvation is thus entirely the work of God, and that good works cannot
be the ground of our acceptance with him, is proved in this verse 1. By
showing that we are God's workmanship – he, not we, has made us what we are.
And 2. By the consideration that we are created for good works. As the
fact that men are elected for holiness proves that holiness is not the ground
of their election, so their being created for good works shows that goodworks are not the ground on which they are made the subjects of this new
creation, which is itself incipient salvation.

The apostle has
clearly taught in this paragraph that the natural state of man is one of
condemnation and spiritual death; that from that condition believers are
delivered by the grace of God in Christ Jesus; and the purpose of this
deliverance is the manifestation, through all coming ages, of the exceeding
riches of his grace.